Linebacker

Tackling

• Able to stand up the BC in the gap

• Aggressive and able to make tackles at the LOS

• Will be carried after contact

• Bad misses in space 

FBI

• Stout in his run fit. Able to plug a gap and hold his ground

• Nice read-react ability. Usually the first to break on the ball

• Aggressive in penetrating in the backfield for highlight TFLs

• Poor tackle angles in space

• Needs to keep his leverage better. Too often shedding the wrong way and giving the ball carrier a free run lane

• Bites hard on misdirection and will be drawn away from his gap discipline

• Overaggressive at times. Poor angles in his run fit to be sealed out of the play

• Late to see play at times. Poor anticipation

• Does not see the mesh point well 

Play Speed

• Good athlete. Impressive footspeed

• Slow and hesitant getting downhill and making the tackle

• Lacking downfield speed in pursuit 

Blitz

• Nice timing of the snap

• Excellent instincts to pick his spots to burst into the backfield and make the sack

• Tons of speed to the QB

• Not much of a pass rush repertoire but great angles when he finds a lane to the quarterback

• Little to no repertoire. Mostly schemed to the QB

Play Strength/Block Shed

• Strong at the LOS to plug gaps in the run game

• Able to muscle through blocks in space

• Active hands to get off the block

• Weak lower body

• Needs to maintain better gap discipline. Good shed but needs to stay in the run lane better

• Poor balance when engaged 

Range

• Able play to the edge of the field

• Does not show the willingness to get good depth in his drops despite his great athleticism

Agility

• Impressive athlete with the ball in his hands

• Works through traffic well

• Nice bend around blocks in space

• Bit of a stiff player

• Plays too high and will affect his change of direction. Especially poor going for tackles in space

• Poor footwork to stay square to the play and make the tackle consistently

• Some poor balance. On the ground a bit too much 

Man Coverage

• Good recognition of underneath routes

• Strong and athletic enough to blanket the RB out of the backfield

• Asked to man up on TEs in space and holds his own though would like him to be more physical at the top of the route

• Needs to play a little more disciplined here. A little too easily moved off his man with misdirection and play action

• Poor turn-and-run ability 

Zone Coverage

• Solid route recognition to get depth and take away passing lanes

• Slow break on the ball

• Tunnel vision on the QB. Too often gets caught with eyes in the backfield and miss his assignment 

Production

• 2023: 12 G, 39 Solo, 84 Tot, 17.0 Loss, 8.0 Sks, 0 INTs, 2 PDs, 2 FFs

• Career (4 seasons): 111 Solo, 205 Tot, 30.5 Loss, 8.5 Sks, 2 INTs, 2 PDs, 2 FF 

Miscellaneous Notes

• Games Watched: Tennessee, Miami (FL), Auburn (2023) Alabama, Arkansas (2022)

• ST Value: Good motor average tackler, excellent athlete

• Injury History: Undisclosed (2023), Undisclosed (2022)

• Misc: 

Tackling

• Decent wrap-up tackler at the line of scrimmage

• Efficient tackler. Good tackle radius

• Big hitter when he gets the chance

• More of a grab-and-drag tackler but still effective

FBI

• Good pursuit angles

• Decent understanding of blocking schemes to seal the edge and force the ball carrier inside. Disciplined run fit

• Poor seeing the play. Needs to play with better leverage in coverage

• Slow to see the play before it happens. Exposed in zone coverage 

Play Speed

• Impressive downhill speed

• Great motor to make plays well downfield

• Impressive long speed to run down receivers 

Blitz

• • Good bend around the punch

  • Tons of burst when he gets a lane

  • Nice rip move. Trouble for TEs when left on an island

  • Poor play strength limits his ability to push his way into the backfield with any consistency

  • Will go long spans with little to no pressure created

  • Not going to create his own pressure. Needs to be schemed into the backfield 

Play Strength/Block Shed

• Plays with great pad level at the line

• Stacks decently well on the edge but not consistently

• Not active with his hands

• Light frame. Pushed around 

Range

• Smooth backdrop to get good depth on his zone drops

• Outstanding downfield pursuit 

Agility

• Quick change of direction. Able to cover ground and seal the edge in the run game

• Slow working through foot trash

• Stiff hips 

Man Coverage

• Good jam to disrupt the route and stay in phase

• Late to cover check and release route

Zone Coverage

• Good hands to catch the easy INT

• Plays with exceptionally poor leverage

• Poo instincts in coverage. Always in the wrong position.

• Will get caught looking into his backfield and miss the route in front of him

• Slow route recognition. Slow to turn and run with the route

• Struggles to re-route receivers crossing his zone 

Production

• 2023: 12 G, 69 Solo, 138 Tot, 17.5 Loss, 6.0 Sks, 3 INTs, 6 PDs

• Career (5 seasons): 202 Solo, 402 Tot, 48.0 Loss, 15.0 Sks, 7 INTs, 13 PDs, 1 FF 

Miscellaneous Notes

• Games Watched: Wake Forest, UNC, Notre Dame (2023) Syracuse, Clemson (2022)

• ST Value: Excellent tackler good motor

• Injury History: Lower body (2023), Undisclosed (2021), Knee (2018)

• Misc: 

Tackling

• Strong at the point of attack when left alone 1-on-1

• Physical player. Tons of pop in his tackles

• Lots of tackles at or behind the LOS

• Poor technique. Tackles high and weak wrap-up for ugly misses against even smaller QBs

• Needs to get head across the body of the ball to prevent phone-booth misses at the line

• Overruns the ball carrier too often 

FBI

• Flashes nice anticipation of the play to jump the route and make a big play

• Not an instinctual player. See ball, get ball.

• Late to see the ball and hit his run fit

• Far too passive in his run fits. Sits back and lets the play come to him

• Poor field awareness. Will shuffle himself well out of the play looking into the backfield

• Poor pursuit angles 

Play Speed

• Slow-footed. Lumbers a bit 

Blitz

• Decent push on the interior of the line but not consistently

• Decent burst to the QB when he finds a lane but needs to finish plays better

• Nice feel for stunts to create pressure

• Jumps the snap well

• Little to no bend limits his pass-rush ability 

Play Strength/Block Shed

• Big, broad frame

• Nice hand use to work over blockers

• Doesn't possess particularly long arms but still shows quick shack-and-shed ability

• Needs to watch his surroundings. Will be blindsided and taken right out of the play

• Needs to stick his nose in at the LOS in his run-fits 

Range

• Able to read/react and run to space

• Plenty of athleticism to play at the boundary but needs to finish plays better once he gets there

• Can be late to seal the edge at times

• Poor angles. Usually late to the ball 

Agility

• Good athlete who can stay with ball carriers in space to make the play

• Slow change of direction at full speed

• Plays a little out of control in terms of his footwork and overall leverage

• Stiff hips

• Struggles getting through traffic 

Man Coverage

• Able to fight through rub routes and break up the pass. Disruptive at the LOS

• Gets his head turned and locates the ball well 

Zone Coverage

• Needs to re-route receivers better

• Struggles to make the tackle near the boundary

• Looks lost. Needs to find someone to cover instead of standing in open space 

Production

• 2023: 12 G, 23 Solo, 44 Tot, 6.0 Loss, 3.0 Sks, 0 INTs, 2 PDs, 1 FF

• Career (4 seasons): 55 Solo, 117 Tot, 12.0 Loss, 4.0 Sks, 1 INT, 3 PDs, 1 FF

• 2023 Butkus Award Semifinalist 

Miscellaneous Notes

• Games Watched: Duke, Ohio State, USC, Navy (2023) Syracuse (2022)

• ST Value: Good motor, above average tackler

• Injury History: Broken ankle (2021, season)

• Misc: 

Tackling

• Good pop when he lands flush

• Foot speed limited and not able to be relied on to make the play in space

• Far too many misses in the whole

• Too easily pushed off the second level. Too many plays too far down the field

• Poor balance at the point of attack

• Does a poor job breaking down before the point of contact. Too often overruns the play 

FBI

• Decent in his run fits but needs to be more patient and see the flow of the play before his commits. Overaggressive and takes needless risks.

• Flashes nice anticipation of the play in coverage. Good instincts to flow into the pass lane

• Aggressive when he finds a lane to the ball carrier

• Poor angles in space

• Will tunnel vision and miss late routes

• Really struggles to see the ball when engaged on the block

• Will try and outthink the opponent when the easier play is there to be made. Can outthink himself at times. 

Play Speed

• Decent short-area burst when rushing the QB

• Good downhill speed in his run fits but needs to be more decisive

• Very slow overall tempo

• Poor motor in his pursuit. Too easily out of the play

• Slow long speed. Not going to win many races 

Blitz

• Plays with great bend

• Dangerous on stunts

• Great angles to the QB when flushed out

• Very effective on dog green blitzes. Nice timing

• Not a power rusher. Too small of a frame and does not possess a strong upper body and will struggle with working over even TEs and RBs

• Flashes nice ability to elude the punch and shows a good pass rush repertoire but should not be relied on as a straight edge rusher as he is used at times

• Will tip his blitz pre-snap leaning 

Play Strength/Block Shed

• Very good use of his hands in his shed. Excellent bend to escape the brunt of the block and get into the backfield

• More of a finesse playstyle

• Not able to plug gaps with any consistency. Too easily pushed off his spot

• Too small to be able to play square with OL

• Needs to impose himself more when left alone with RB in his pass rush. Too easily negated

• Little to no stack-shed ability

• Does not appear willing to play at the LOS in the run game 

Range

• Decent angles getting to the sidelines

• Slow read-react ability

• Struggles getting to the boundary in coverage

• Not going to make many plays outside his immediate area. Poro downfield pursuit 

Agility

• Able to dip around blocks in space decently well

• Works well through foot trash and cut blocks to make the play

• Stiff player

• Slow change of direction means he will struggle in space. Poor on spies

• Poor footwork to stay square to the ball carrier 

Man Coverage

• • Decisive. Knows his assignment and works through traffic well to cover his man

  • Hard to deceive. Nice disciplined play to stay with his assignment

  • Physical at the LOS to re-route his man

  • Matches up well with receivers and TEs

  • Slow getting out to the boundary

  • Grabby when beat 

Zone Coverage

• Decisive. Knows his assignment and works through traffic well to cover his man

• Hard to deceive. Nice disciplined play to stay with his assignment

• Physical at the LOS to re-route his man

• Matches up well with receivers and TEs

• Slow to break and make the play in the open field

• Tunnel visions and will miss his assignment trying to make a play elsewhere

• Needs to keep head on a swivel for routes developing late behind him 

Production

• 2023: 12 G, 54 Solo, 88 Tot, 15.0 Loss, 5.5 Sks, 2 INTs, 5 PDs, 2 FF

• Career (3 seasons): 113 Solo, 192 Tot, 29.5 Loss, 13.0 Sks, 4 INTs, 10 PDs, 3 FF 

Miscellaneous Notes

• Games Watched: Duke, Florida St., UNC, Notre Dame (2023) Syracuse (2022)

• ST Value: Poor tackler, poor motor

• Injury History: Hamstring (2023), Broken right arm (2022)

• Misc: